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Sep 03

Say Yes to Stress: How Yoga Relieves Stress

Are you stressed?

People often link stress with distress. But in my experience, you don’t have to be unhappy to be stressed. My life is full, happy and yes, I definitely feel stressed. Balancing practicing medicine and catering (and being catered to) by a wife and children often leaves me wishing for more hours in the day and feeling anxious about what I have on my plate.

Sound familiar?

Many of us have similar stories. Some of us can modify our lives and remove particular stressors. Or we can take medication when life is truly out of control. But there is an easily-accessible option you might want to try first: Exercise, particularly yoga.

I am a strong believer in the mind-body connection and have seen firsthand how exercise not only increases your overall health and energy levels but is also the perfect stress buster. It pumps up your endorphins, those feel-good hormones, improves your mood and redirects your tension levels.

In addition to working out on a daily basis, I personally practice yoga and recommend yoga, tai chi or medication to help patients blunt the cortisol spike. Considered a complementary and alternative medicine practice, yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness of body and mind.

What I love about yoga is instead of just treating anxiety symptoms like meds do, yoga actually helps you learn to cope with your worries. Given the choice, I would rather try to overcome my problems than put a Band-Aid on them.